Utopia
by DarkarC inc
Summary: Utopia, the last remnant of society. Built by Bronies to protect millions from an anarchist group known as "C", Utopia tries its best to keep humanity alive. But for how much longer can the citizens of Utopia live in heaven, when hell is all around them?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

They had been riding in the plane for God knows how long? Hours? A day? More? She couldn't tell. She slowly turned her head and looked at the three men dressed in black, the Enforcers, talking quietly. Her eyes focusing on the tranq guns they had in the holsters on their waists. The Enforcers looked over at her and she turned to the man in front of her, dressed in rags a little dirtier than her own.

"When do you think we'll get there," she whispered quietly, as much to herself as to her one and only friend, Gorge, "do you think the rumors are true?"

The man huffed, "What rumors? The ones about the gold paved streets or the ones about the diamond studded houses? No, I don't believe in stupid rumors, I believe in a place where we can finally have a home, a place where we can live without fearing some crazy freak with a knife will slit our throats when we sleep, a place where you will be safe," he leaned forward, "that's what I believe in."

That shut her up. She turned around and peered out the closest window, one of the few on the old cargo plane. This time she looked out and saw that the ocean was gone, and was replaced with a white wasteland dotted with rocks.

She jumped when one of the Enforcers laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Get ready, we're going to land soon," he said with a kind look in his eyes, "it might be a little bumpy." She nodded, stole one last glance out the window, and buckled the straps like they showed her when they first got on the plane.

The Enforcer nodded and turned to Gorge, but he was already buckled in.

The plane lurched as it began to descend.

The girl felt her stomach churn with excitement.

Soon she would be safe.

Soon she would be in her new home.

Soon she would be in Utopia.

She looked up as the Enforcer handed her and Gorge a set of snow gear. "Put these on," the Enforcer ordered. They complied and quickly put on the snow pants, boots and jackets. Once they were outfitted, the rear door opened, revealing the bright snow, and the cold, blistering wind. The Enforcers lead the passengers into the nearby building, which at a distance, looked like just a small administrative office. The girl looked confused. She thought to herself, _this can't be it, there has to be more_. Her anxiety increased slightly, worried if it really was too good to be true.

They reached the door to the building when an Enforcer opened the door for them. They walked inside shaking off the cold. They stood quietly, patiently waiting in the room. Suddenly, a man wearing a black suit came out, and politely waved to them.

"Hello. I'm Greg Anderson; I'll be your Sorter for this evening, if you would follow me please". They followed the man towards a set of elevator doors. He pushed a button on the side, and the doors slowly slid open. They all stepped inside. There were three windows in the walls but their view was blocked by the cement on the other side of the panes. The doors closed behind them and they began their descent. Slowly they descended down into the city, within a few seconds, the cement walls disappeared, and a grand sight appeared before them.

They looked out at the lit city, rows upon rows of buildings. Weaving through the city were monorail tracks, with trains riding all over the city. She looked down as she saw bustling streets, with people moving from one place to the other. The girl smiled, there were no fights, no fires, and not a single building was broken or run down. Her smile grew, her eyes getting watery at the glorious sight. She knew this was the safe home she always wanted. She looked over at Gorge, noticing his eyes were getting watery as well.

"We did it Catherine," Gorge murmured. "We're here."

Mr. Anderson put comforting hands on the shoulders of the new arrivals. With that he said three words.

"Welcome to Utopia."


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Connor**

The deep pulse of the bass resonated in Connor's chest. The crowd leapt up and down to the electric rhythm. The entertainment dome was packed; every available space was crammed with people. The high curve of the ceiling seemed to move as a kaleidoscope of colors zigzagged across the screens that made it up, colliding and mixing to the song perfectly.

Onstage the faintly flickering hologram of Vinyl Scratch bobbed her head to the beat, hooves moving over the soundboard. Everything moved as one, the light show on the ceiling, the surge of the crowd, the pulse of the music as it slowed down, readying the crowd for the end.

The concert was nothing like the ones Connor had seen on his datapad. Every hour spent researching and readying himself for this did almost nothing when it came to actually being here.

_It's the atmosphere_, Connor concluded, _the way everything is presented stimulates the brain in wonderful ways._

Connor shifted his weight and continued to type his observations on his datapad, all the while watching everything he could.

_This is for science_, he reminded himself for the umpteenth time when he noticed his foot tapping to the beat, _for science, not fun._

The song ended and the hologram flickered off, the puppeteer bowed and shouted something that was lost in the cheering.

Soon the cheering quieted into a monotone drone as hundreds of conversations started up at once.

"That was great! You think the song is out on the Infi-Net yet?"

"I don't think so, but you know it will be after tonight!"

"Forget the song, did you see the hologram? It was synchronized perfectly!"

"Please, it was too...jerky, not natural at all. You want to see a good hologram sync? Go to an Electric Poni concert."

Connor sighed and started to move his way through the crowd, trying to find a good vantage point to watch the next act. He folded his datapad and slipped it into his pocket, more to keep it safe from the Caff-Drunks that made up most of the crowd than anything else. No need to risk having something spill on it. He passed through a group of Holo-Dancers, low-grade holograms flickering from the holo-lights attached to their arms and chests.

_The natural residents of the District of Laughter._

"Hey cutie!"

Connor looked over to see two girls break off from the Holo-Dancers and worm their way over to him.

_Oh no_, Connor thought. _Fonies_

The two girls belonged to another clique of the District of Laughter. They dye their hair and skin, get color implants for their eyes, and often get cutie mark tattoos. All that, along with the Pony-esque names they give themselves and the almost constant caffeine buzz made them the most famous and extreme of the many cliques of this District.

These two particular Fonies obviously tried to coordinate their looks; they had the same styles of hair, and the same brand of holo-suites. They had to be twin sisters, they had the same body-type and facial features. Only one was blue with pink hair and the other pink with blue hair.

When they got to Connor, they looked him up and down, twin smiles on their faces.

"Can I help you?" Connor asked, feeling awkward under the gaze of two girls.

Their smiles grew bigger.

"I'm Morning Dew," the blue skinned one said. "This is my sister, Evening Breeze."

"Oh?" Connor stared at them in confusion. "I'm Connor."

"You're kinda cute," Evening Breeze gushed.

Connor's eyes widened. "I-I'm what?"

The Fonies giggled.

"We've never seen you before," Morning Dew said, "and you don't look like one of them Norms or anything, so what brings you to the district?"

Connor raised an eyebrow, "Why would you want to know?"

The Fonies looked at each other, confused.

"Uh...," Morning Dew started.

_Time to make my escape._ "Well, I need to go, nice talking to you and all!" Connor turned and dodged through the crowd.

"Hey," the Fonies shouted, "wait!"

Just then the lights dimmed.

The response was instantaneous; the entire dome went silent, anticipation filling the spaces where conversations just were.

Then, a single spotlight flashed on, illuminating a figure.

"Alpha Beat," Morning Dew whispered next to Connor, making him jump.

"What the-?" he started.

The twins quickly shushed him.

Alpha Beat stood on stage, staring out at the crowd, face in shadow, the light from the spotlight glinting off of his hologram projecting glasses and shaved head. Then, slowly, he raised his arms over the soundboards, a pianist ready to play a beautiful piece.

What happened next was one of the greatest combinations of light and sound Connor had ever experienced.

As soon as Alpha Beat's arms were flung down, the music exploded at full volume into the dome, red and orange lights erupted from his head, and the crowd let out a single, simultaneous scream of joy. The red lights flew slowly across the dome, bouncing off the hands that rose up to catch the globs of light. One arched over Connor, and the twins on either side of him leapt up in an attempt to touch it, missed and let out sounds of complaint.

The song suddenly picked up speed and the lights started to change colors in time to the pulse of the bass. Soon the holograms were flashing like strobe lights.

By this time the crowd was surging like a storm tossed sea. Connor pulled out his datapad and unfolded it, excited by the events that were taking place. The twins on either side of him pressed closer, watching him as he typed.

"Hey," Morning Dew shouted, "what are you doing?"

"Making observations, documenting, typing notes," Connor answered automatically.

"Why?"

"Because it is what I'm interested in right now," Connor replied. "I want to know how music affects people."

"Really?" Evening Breeze piped up. "You document this yet?"

Connor looked up, "Document what?"

Evening Breeze smiled and slid in closer to Connor, "Oh, you know...this!" The Fony leaned forward and planted a kiss on Connors lips.

Connor jumped back and sputtered, a blush creeping up his neck, "What the-I don't-What?"

Evening Breeze giggled and grabbed her sister and turned, disappearing into the crowd.

Connor looked around, a few people smiled at him, having seen the whole thing; one guy even gave him a thumbs-up. Connor's blush turned deeper and he ducked town and put a lot of effort into focusing on his datapad, only to see that two datapad ID numbers had been typed under where is last observations where.

_Sweet Celestia_, Connor seethed. _What in the actual buck?_

He refocused on the concert, trying to listen to the lyrics Alpha Beat was belting out.

The holographic lights that were just bounding across the crowd had returned to Alpha Beats head, swirling around it like a flashing halo. Then, on the final note, they faded away, leaving a faint afterglow.

Alpha Beat looked up from his soundboard and smiled, dazzling the crowd with perfect teeth and charisma.

"How's it going in Utopia tonight?" He shouted, to which the crowd screamed out dozens of replies.

"That's what I thought," Alpha Beat laughed. "So I got you guys a little bit-of-a-something!"

The crowd cheered wildly, but then Alpha Beat frowned, and looked sullen. "Or, well I did," he said. "But there was an...accident. You see, I made you guys a bass."

The crowd through themselves into a frenzy.

Alpha Beat flashed another perfect smile, "But I dropped it!" Suddenly a deep pulse shook the entertainment dome, making Connor wince, but smile at the same time.

_What a performer_, Connor thought. _He sure knows how to entertain._

Once again holographic lights projected from the stage, slowly forming the outline of the notorious pink pony. The Pinkie hologram danced a jig on Alpha Beat's head before leaping into the crowd, riding the waves they made from the jumping of bodies.

"Let's do this," her voice boomed over the speakers, slightly distorted. "Let's par-TAY!"

:.:.:

As the performance went on Connor found that he was taking fewer and fewer notes, and soon he was jumping up and down with the crowd and learning the lyrics to the song from other people. He realized that he was no longer an observer, but a participant. Connor moved where the crowd took him, one minute he was in front of the stage with a particularly hyped-up group of Caff-Drunks, the next learning how to dance with a Puppeteer. Time seemed to have no more meaning, and as the songs began to run together Connor realized what he was doing.

_This is fun, I'm having fun_. He laughed. _Having fun is fun!_

Soon Connor was jumping up and down with a group of Fonies, laughing with them when one crashed from forgetting to drink some more caffeine. He helped them carry their friend through the crowd before he got himself caught up in a group of Holo-Dancers, two of which looked familiar.

"Hey," Connor shouted. "Hey it's me!"

He pushed through the few dancers who were in his way, waving his arms to get the twins' attention. Morning Dew spotted him first, red exclamation marks orbited around her, indicating her surprise. She shook her sister, who stopped gyrating, yellow question marks floating around her. Soon Connor and the twin Fonies were standing close to each other, having the strangest conversation of Connor's life.

Connor tried to speak to them, but the twins shook their heads and an ear with a red slash over it flickered in front of them. Connor understood, they couldn't hear. Words scrolled in front of Morning Dew.

BRING OUT THE DATAPAD!

Connor nodded, he brought out his pad and unfolded it and configured it to show what he was typing on the back of the smartglass.

-Okie dokie lokie, how is this?

The twins smiled and nodded, a smilie face hovered in front of Evening Breeze.

NICE SO HOW IS TAKING NOTES?

-Oh I stopped.

The Fonies laughed, STARTED HAVING TOO MUCH FUN?

-I guess.

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES TWI A DULL PONY HAHA

-I guess haha!

Just then the song ended, and Alpha Beat cleared his throat. "Well boys and girls, it's been fun, but I'm getting bored. So get outta here!"

The crowd roared and cheered, and Connor joined in, shouting absolute nonsense. Alpha Beat smiled and took a bow, a holographic "applause" cue card floating above his head. Connor laughed along with a large majority of the crowd.

After the applause Connor found himself following the flow of people moving out of the dome, Evening Breeze and Morning Dew on either side of him.

_That was fun_, Connor thought. _But now what?_

And that was when Connor saw his dad.

"Oh buck," Connor swore.

"What's wrong cutie?" asked the twins simultaneously.

Connor panicked, looking for any and all possible escape routes. "It's my dad. I snuck out of the house because I was supposed to be working on an important project for school, but instead I came here."

"Ooo, naughty naughty," the twins giggled. Connor ignored them, turning against the flow of the crowd, trying to find a rear exit out of the dome. "Hey, where are you going?" shouted Morning Dew. He couldn't hear them. Connor fought against the crowd spotting a nearby door. He ran through it, seeing it as his nearest escape route. He was in such a hurry; he failed to notice the "Authorized Personnel Only" sign, mounted on the door.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Adam**

Adam took his bow, cleverly adding the applause hologram above his head. The crowd erupted into laughter and then greater applause. With a final wave, he walked off the stage, satisfied with yet another job well done.

As he walked off, he got his usual variation of compliments and congratulations from the stage crews, praising him for an outstanding performance. He thanked them all politely and continued towards his dressing room. He sighed a breath of relaxation, "Another night, another standing ovation." He gave himself a metaphorical pat on the back, and immediately began trying to decide which night club he would visit for his after party. Or at least he would be if it weren't for the random kid who slammed into his backside.

He came crashing to the ground, his holo-shades bumped on the floor, ruining his holo-hair. He groaned, slowly raising himself from the impact. The person who ran into him, got up quickly, turning to apologize with haste, when suddenly, the kid froze, staring in disbelief at who he was looking at. Adam turned towards a nearby mirror, noticing the outcome of his fall. "Ah, man. The hairs messed up," said Adam disappointed. His "hair" was currently displayed as a puke green mess.

"Y-y-you're," stuttered the kid.

"Eh, don't worry kid. It's an easy fix." He touched the sides of his sunglasses, pushing an assortment of buttons. The kid watched in awe as Adam's hair switched from different styles and colors, such as a blue and white Mohawk, yellow pigtails, and a purple ponytail, until he finally decided on the final 'do, an orange afro with a red stripe and white stripe streaking down the left side of his hair.

"Ah, that's much better. So anyways, what are you doing here? You don't look like stage crew, and you certainly aren't one of the musicians," questioned Adam.

"I, um, well, you see uh," the kid stammered. In the distance a voice was heard. "Yes, I'm looking for my son; I believe I saw him go through here, have you seen him?" The kid instantly recognized the voice and appeared terrified. Adam looked puzzled and asked "Friend of yours?"

The kid continued to stammer. "Dad, concert, snuck out, big trouble, please help!" the kid looked with pleading eyes. Adam smiled. "Follow me kid."

Adam led the kid into his dressing room and shut the door. The kid began to pace back and forth in the room. "I'm dead, I'm dead, oh sweet Celestia I'm so dead!" Adam watched as the helpless kid became more and more paranoid. Suddenly, Adam snapped his fingers. "I got an idea!" Suddenly he grabbed the kid, and lifted him up to the door, and hung him on the hanger attached to it.

"What are you doing?" asked a frightened and concerned Connor.

"Just trust me." There was a knock on the door. Adam raised his finger to make a shushing motion; he thought somehow the kid could sense he was winking at him through his sunglasses. He swung the door open, crushing the kid on the other side of the door against the wall.

"Can I help you sir?" asked Adam

"Uh, yes, I'm looking for my son; I think I saw him walk into this room?" asked the kid's father.

"Well, no one else is here but me, but you can look around if you want," said Adam, stepping out of the way. "Come on in."

"Thanks," said the father. He stepped in cautiously looking around.

"Told you, no one's here but me," said Adam.

"I see," said the father quietly. He pulled out his datapad and opened a picture and showed it to Adam. "If you see him, let me know." He then pulled out a disposable data card with his information encrypted on it. Adam took the card and placed it into his pocket.

"Can do sir, have a good night now," said Adam.

"You to," The man said quietly. He exited the room and continued to walk down the hallway. Adam silently watched as he walked away, closing the door when he was far enough. He smiled at the kid. "See, told you it would work."

The kid inhaled, breathing deeply. He appeared to have been holding his breath the entire time his father was in the room. Adam lifted him off of the hanger, and placed him gently on the ground. "What's your name kid?" asked Adam.

"Connor, my name's Connor," he replied.

"Well Connor, how'd you like to come with me to the After Party?" asked Adam.

"Wh-What?" stuttered Connor.

"Let me see your Datapad." Without a word, Connor handed over his Datapad; Adam opened it up and immediately began working on it. "So how old are you kid?"

"Um, s-seventeen."

"Not anymore you're not." With the final tap on the smartglass, Adam tossed the Datapad back to Connor. Connor saw that it was opened to his citizen profile.

_Name: Connor Satterfield_

_Age: 18_

Connor did a double take. Did he read that right? The official database said he was 18. "H-How did you-?"

"Time's a wastin' kid, you coming or not?" Connor took a moment of thought. On one hand, he was already in huge trouble. Any time extended to this would only lead to a much larger punishment. He could already sense the numerous book reports he'd have to write. On the other hand, such a trip would allow him to experience the world of the District of Laughter's nightclubs, to see the people, the interactions, and of course, the Utopian famous district caffeine beverages. Since he was already going to be punished, he saw no outcome that would be worse then what it's already going to be. "Sure, I'll come along."

"Excellent," shouted Adam, already out of the room and down the hall. "We can take my scoota-bike!"

Connor rushed after him, closing the door to Adams dressing room, "Why? How far is it?"

"Oh, you'll see!"

Adam and Connor stood in front of the bar, watching the holographic sign flicker.

"Pinkie's Pub," Connor exclaimed, "You are taking me to a caffeine bar? I thought we were going to an After Party?"

Adam stared at Connor, puzzled. "An After Party? What gave you that idea?"

"Wha-bu-you," Connor stuttered. "Is this how you always are? And why did we take your scoota-bike when this place was just across the street?"

Adam laughed, "To make you ask questions my newly acquired friend!" The musician then pushed Connor towards the door, "Now, don't drink too much, you don't want to stay awake for a week!"

They entered the caffeine bar and Adam led Connor towards the back, weaving his way through the tables and pools of fizzing liquid expertly. They reached the bar and Adam sat down on a stool with a sigh, gesturing for Connor to follow suit.

"I'll have the Pinkie Special," Adam declared. "And some Giggle Shots for my friend here!" The bartender nodded, and placed a shot glass in front of Connor and a mug in front of Adam, both filled to the brim with a bubbling pink liquid. Connor inspected his drink cautiously, noticing the pink cotton candy floating on the top. He turned to Adam, who was about to down his drink.

"What is this?" Connor asked. "Why is it called a Giggle Shot?"

Adam smiled. "Just drink up kid," he said. "You'll see in a moment."

Connor took one last suspicious look at his drink, before quickly downing it. "Bottoms up!" Adam declared and followed suite with his own drink, chugging the pink liquid like a pro. Connor placed his shot glass on the bar with a gag, unprepared for the sudden sweetness.

Adam sighed with satisfaction before placing his own glass on the counter. He looked over at Connor who had a sick look on his face. _One_, Adam counted silently, _two…three…_

"I don't feel so good," Connor groaned. "Almost like I'm about to-"

The kid suddenly lurched forward, a high pitched laugh escaping him. Adam laughed himself, his laughter sounding high and girly. "This is great," He squeaked.

Connor lurched again, another round of laughter shooting out of his mouth.

Soon they both were laughing, the high pitched squeaks filled the bar, prompting others to join in. By the time Adam and Connor stumbled out of the door Pinkie's Pub was filled to the brim with laughing people.

Adam smothered his laughter. "Looks like it's on to the next place," he said. "How about we hit my usual watering hole?" Connor tried to gasp out a reply, only to dissolve into another fit of laughter. Adam smiled. "I'll take that as an okie dokie lokie!"

:.:.:

By the time they got to the next bar the laughing effects of their previous drinks had worn off. When they stopped in front of an unmarked building Connor began to ask questions, but Adam quickly shushed him. As they walked to the door Adam tried to explain some important things to Connor.

"Okie dokie lokie," Adam began. "This place we are going to is super secret. And I mean super_ super _secret. Can you keep a super super secret secret?"

Connor sighed. "Of course I can keep a secret."

Adam whirled around and grabbed Connor by the front of his shirt. "This isn't a secret! This is a super super secret secret! Say you can keep a super super secret secret!"

Connor squirmed, "Okay! I can keep a super super secret secret! Jeez, put me down!"

Adam smiled, "Yay! You are definitely my best new friend!" Adam then promptly flung Connor over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and knocked on the door.

A slot on the door opened and two eyes peered out. "Password," A female voice commanded. "And don't mess it up."

Adam became puzzled. "Password, "he asked. "Since when did we have a password?"

"Password accepted."

"Oh yeah," Adam said. "That is the password!"

Connor sighed. "Can you please put me down?"

"No."

The door opened and the body guard put her hand on her hip and smiled. "That's quite the catch you got there Adam. A little skinny, but he's quite the cutie."

Adam laughed. "Oh this is Connor, he's my new friend. I saved him from his dad! So how's the club tonight Shay?"

Shay smiled. "Oh you know, the usual; although we got ourselves some Scoota-bikers tonight. One even looks familiar." She winked at Adam. Adam's smile grew wider, "You mean she's here?" But before Shay could reply he dropped Connor and rushed into the club.

He quickly recognized the shock of rainbow hair and found her sitting at a table with another Scoota-Biker. "Hey Ashley," he began before he realized that she was busy. The other Scoota-Biker was red in the face, his cheeks puffed out and rainbow suds bubbled at the corners of his mouth.

They were playing Rainbooms.

Rainbooms was a drinking game centered on the caff-drink called the Rainboom. The goal was to hold the extremely fizzy liquid in ones mouth longer than your opponent, which is a lot harder than it sounds. If drunk quickly, the Rainboom will just give you a lot of energy, like a normal safe-caffeine drink. But when held in ones mouth for a longer time than usual, it begins to react to the enzymes in ones saliva, bubbling up like a Mentos in a bottle of Coke.

Ashley sat still, a bored look on her face. The only sign that she was participating was her puffed out cheeks. She inspected her nails as the other Scoota-biker began to twitch. Finally, the other Scoota-biker turned to the side and retched, rainbow colored foam pouring out of his mouth and nose. Ashley swallowed her suds and cheered.

"That's right Chase! Spit it all out," She boasted. "You know what they say! 'Spitters are Quitters!'"

Adam walked up behind Ashley and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Hey gorgeous," He whispered into her ear. "Guess who."

"Hey Adam," Ashley said, pushing him away. "Nice of you to get here finally, I was just getting tired of beating these losers anyway. I want a challenge for once."

Adam laughed, "Maybe next time love. But right now I have someone to introduce you to! This is Connor!" He turned around to gesture to his new found friend, only to see that he wasn't there.

"Wow," Ashley snickered. "So you finally lost it, huh? That's okay, I kinda like crazy."

"Hold that thought," Adam started to retrace his steps. Adam eventually found Connor backed against a wall surrounded by a group of Holo-Dancers.

"You're right Chloe," one of them said. "He is cute! In a sorta 'geeky' way, I like geeky!"

Adam pushed through them. "Sorry ladies," Adam said. "He's with me."

A few of the Holo-Dancers laughed. "I didn't know you swung that way Alpha," one of them said.

Connor grew red at that and sputtered. "Ignore them," Adam said. "She's just playing bitchy."

Adam dragged Connor back to Ashley, who by then was counting out a stack of bits that she won from Chase. "Okay," Adam said. "This is Connor. Connor, meet Ashley!"

Connor looked from Ashley to Adam. "So," he said. "You guys are…?"

Adam and Ashley looked at each other and busted out laughing. "He thinks we are going out," Ashley scoffed, leaning on Adam for support. "He thinks we are a couple!"

Adam stifled his laughter for a moment to try to explain.

"You see," He said. "We're both pretty famous around the district. We don't want everyone to be all, 'Alpha Beat and Ashley Diaz are going out! They can be the new celebrity power couple!'"

"Yeah," Ashley snickered. "Buck that, leave that kind of stuff for the Spire Freaks!"

"So basically," Adam continued. "We just hook up every now and then for the hay of it."

"Oh," Connor said. "So there's nothing between you two?"

"Oh of course," Adam said. "We're madly in love!"

"But you just said-"

"So," Adam turned to Ashley. "You want to leave this place and go do something?"

The female Scoota-biker shrugged. "I guess," she said as she pocketed her spoils. "I'm getting tired of this place anyway."

They made it to the metro station fairly quickly; Adam let Ashley drive his scoota-bike. Of course, his scoota-bike was only meant for two people at the most; but that didn't stop him from throwing Connor over his lap, telling him not to squirm too much. The metro station was deserted; everyone was still too busy partying at this hour to worry about going home.

"So, I'm thinking we should hit Discord's Palace," Adam said. "Then maybe refuel at a caff-bar."

"Screw that," Ashley retorted. "I feel like breaking into a Party Spire and causing havoc! I learned a few new pranks from some Fony and I want to test them out on the people that deserve them."

"Uh," Connor interjected. Adam and Ashley quit their discussion and looked over at him. Connor had his datapad out, and was looking though his messages. "Guys, my parents have been trying to contact me all night. I think it's time that I stopped delaying the inevitable and just go home and face my punishment."

"Aw," Adam grew sad. "I had so much planned out for tonight! You can't leave now! I mean what about the-oof!"

Ashley removed her elbow from the musician's side. "If you need to go, we won't stop you. It's Adam's fault that you are in so much trouble anyways."

Connor smiled halfheartedly, "Thanks. He'll probably give me a lot of projects to complete, or something."

Adam was about to complain again, but then Ashley stood on tiptoes and whispered into his ear, "do this and we can go back to your place, start from where we left off last time." Adam put his chin in his hands. "Hmm," He pondered. "Let me think." The metro suddenly appeared in the near distance.

"Well think fast," Ashley murmured. "Connor's ride is here."

The metro slowed to a halt, and the doors slid open, the passengers quickly getting out.

_Fun or sex_, Adam asked himself. _The age old dilemma…_

He reached his decision quite quickly. _Damn you penis._

"Well it was nice knowing you kid," Adam said just as the boarding alert buzzed over the speaker. "You keep in touch now!" Then Adam promptly lifted his leg, and Spartan-kicked Connor onto the awaiting train, and a girl with the floppiest hat Adam had ever seen. The doors closed and Connor was whisked away, off to another part of Utopia.

"Now," Adam wrapped his arm around Ashley's waist. "Remind me where we left off last time."


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Natasha**

Natasha was having the worst day.

First off, she got into another argument with her father. Then, her line for the upcoming Founding Day Gala was rejected by the Gala Committee. And of course, because of her anger and high levels of stress, she accidentally got onto the wrong metro.

But now, as if the universe _had_ to make her day worse, some kid gets shoved into her, causing her to scuff her brand new, one of a kind, sapphire studded pumps.

Natasha held in her scream of dismay as she peered at the small mark on the toe of her shoe. She felt like crying, like screaming, like grabbing hold of the nearest person and wringing their ugly neck. Instead, seeing as how doing all those things would be most unbecoming of a lady, she set her jaw and swung her head around to stare daggers at the boy who was busy clumsily trying to stay on his feet as the metro took off. Natasha continued to glare her most forceful and crippling glare until he noticed.

The boy jumped a little when he made eye contact. "Oh," he said. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you! My…friend kicked me onto the metro. I wasn't planning on running into another person, sorry."

Natasha gave him another withering look before going back to examining her shoe. _Poor baby_, she crooned silently, _it will all be okay, I'll get you fixed right up when we get back home! _The more Natasha inspected her shoe the more she realized that it would be an easy fix. Just a smudge really, nothing more, good shining would fix it up. Natasha glanced back over at the boy, who by now was deeply immersed into his Datapad.

The Datapad held her attention. It wasn't one of the simple ones that she saw most people carrying around, more like the multi-functional elite ones her father always was on, the ones he used to check the movement of all the Enforcers in the district. _Maybe this boy isn't some random party go-er from the District of Laughter_, she thought to herself, _Maybe this rude boy is something more. _

"Apology accepted," Natasha said, noticing how the boy jumped a little when she spoke.

"I'm Natasha Statnik," She said, mentally wincing as her accent kicked up. "Perhaps you have heard of me?"

"Oh, I'm Connor Satterfield, and no, I've never have heard of you."

Natasha felt a brief flash anger. "That's alright darling," she said, controlling herself. "I don't expect everyone to know me. It's not like I'm getting to be a big fashion designer or anything! It's not like my father is the C.O. of the Enforcers or whatever." Connor stared at her, awkwardly. "Well," he said. "Uh, I don't really pay attention to those sorts of things…maybe one day, but right now I'm only focusing on how music affects people."

"What?" Natasha asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"I find a subject and I study it till I know everything I can." Connor explained. "Right now I'm studying how music affects people. Before that it was how a scoota-bike runs, and before that was the effects of synthetic sunlight on plants, and so on and so on."

Natasha smiled. _So I was right_, she thought. _He's not some resident of the District of Laughter_.

"So," Natasha began. "You must be from the District of Magic."

"Yeah," Connor said. "My parents are both professors at Lulamoon University. My mom teaches history, and my dad teaches psychology."

"Ah, so you are an educated boy, aren't you?"

"Boy?" Connor sputtered. "I'm 17! That's well beyond childhood!"

Natasha let out a polite giggle as the metro began to slow. "Well, it was nice talking to you Connor Satterfield, but I'm afraid that this next stop is where we must go our separate ways. Have a wonderful life."

"Uh, thanks?"

With that Natasha stepped lightly off of the metro, noticing out of the corner of her eye how several guys stopped in their tracks to watch her as she walked towards the exit. She smiled, and put just a tad more movement into her hips. _Not too much_, she reminded herself. _I mustn't look like a whore._ She moved through the crowd quickly and cleanly, enjoying how people automatically moved out of her way. It was something she could never get used to, yet it was something she loved.

:.:.:

Natasha let out a sigh of relief when she finally opened the door to her flat. All she wanted to do was kick off her heels, grab a warm drink, and slip into a deep sleep. _I am so done with today_, she thought. _Completely and utterly done. _

Just as Natasha was debating whether or not to jump in the hot tub, her house phone bleeped, alerting her of an incoming call. "Phone," she called out. "Caller I.D."

"Call from, 'Father,'" the automated voice sounded.

Natasha growled. "Fine," she complained. "Phone, answer." The speaker clicked. "Hello father" she greeted with an exasperated sigh.

"Natasha," Her father's voice filtered over the speakers of her house phone. "We need to talk."

"Father, I told you that I'm not going to move back to the District of Loyalty. It doesn't make sense for me, a budding designer, to move from the district that was _built_ on the Element of Harmony that Rarity possessed. Now, I don't have any problems with the District of Loyalty; I'm just saying that I don't think it would be wise if I were to-"

"Enough," her father said, cutting her off. "I'm not here to continue this childish debate. I have news. I'm being moved to a different position. The higher ups say that this is going to be a more secure assignment and that I'm not going to be able to contact anyone for a couple of months."

Natasha shrugged. "So," she said. '"What's this new position about?"

"I'm not at liberty to say."

That threw Natasha off. Almost nothing was withheld from the public, everything was revealed eventually. Her father was always allowed to tell her what he was doing.

"Well," Natasha said. "I wish you the best of luck, Father."

"I'll talk to you when I can, Natasha."

"Call ended," the automated voice announced.

Natasha sighed. "Flat, prepare me a bubble bath. I need to relax."

"Yes, Natasha."

Natasha looked out the windows, gazing across the District of Generosity, watching the way the distant dome that curved above Utopia twinkled with fake stars. For a brief moment she felt herself wonder how the actual stars looked. She began to wonder how life outside was like, how people could even begin to live without the comforts Utopia provided.

"Your bath is ready, Natasha."

_Speaking of comforts_, Natasha thought as she thanked her flat. _I have a date with a bubble bath! _

When she finished with her bath Natasha made her way to her bedroom, ordering her flat's A.I. to turn off the lights, and to make sure a cup of coffee was made when she woke up. Natasha greeted her bed with a sigh, ready to end this long and tiresome day. Natasha slid into her bed, reviling in the way the sheets felt.

Only, her mind was racing, keeping her from the sleep she wanted.

"Why, Celestia?" She groaned, slipping out of bed again. "Flat, lights."

The lights flared on, making her wince. "Flat, lights at thirty-five percent!"

The lights dimmed, and Natasha opened her eyes, letting out a sigh and mentally cursing her flat for being so stupid. "Next chance I get," she growled at the ceiling, "I'm going to get you unplugged!"

The flat remained silent.

Natasha stalked out of her room, wondering if there were any sleeping medications in her bathroom cabinet. _I hate you_, she silently ranted. _Universe, you're a real bitch you know that? All I wanted was a good night sleep. I just wanted this day to end! But no, you had to go and-_

The bleep of the house phone interrupted her ranting.

"What? Who is calling at this hour? Flat, caller I.D!"

"Call from 'unknown.'"

Natasha sighed, "Flat, why do you even bother. I'm going out. Automatically direct all calls to voicemail."

"Yes, Natasha."

Natasha donned her coat and grabbed her Datapad, slipping it into the inside of her coat pocket. She exited her flat and held her thumbprint against the reader, locking the door. After walking down the stairs, she stepped outside, raising her hood as she felt the cold chill of the Utopia air.

The Generosity district was strangely alien at night. All the shops were closed and as such almost no one walked the streets this late. She looked up to a nearby clock tower. 3:05 A.M. She silently cursed her insomniac behavior as of late. While she did indeed feel exhausted and tired, she couldn't bring herself to the point of blissful unconsciousness. With nothing left to do, and nowhere to go, she walked to the metro station, for yet another nightly train ride.

Whenever Natasha could not sleep, or if she had something plaguing her mind, she would go to the metro and relax to let her mind sort itself out. Due to the late hour of the night, almost no one was awake, leaving the train cars hauntingly empty. While the loneliness did sometimes feel very cold and isolating to her, she had to admit that she found the solitude enjoyable when she was in a creative state of mind.

She sat down as the automated train began its trip. She was completely alone in the train car, allowing her a decent amount of peace and quiet, only listening to the soft rumble on the train on its one rail track. She glanced out the window, admiring the metropolis society she called home. Feeling a small strike of inspiration, she pulled out her Datapad out of her coat pocket.

She opened up the screen and pulled out her stylus and began to trace along the pad. During her glance of the city she had gotten an idea for a hat design. _When donning the streets of the city, it is important to hold a sense of formality, yet appear relaxed and casual, _she thought to herself. She began tracing the outlines of the hat, making it wide with a rounded edge.

She lost herself in her drawing. Whenever she put herself into a creative "zone" as she referred to it, she was completely oblivious to her surroundings, an artist entirely focused on her piece. While some came and left from the train, she didn't seem to notice.

Satisfied with her design, she saved it, and closed out of the program. She sighed to herself, feeling more and more tired as the night went by. Suddenly the sound of the intercom came over the speakers. "Now arriving at District of Loyalty," said the train's A.I.

Natasha remembered the particular train she was on stopped only a mere two blocks from her father's quarters. Usually her father was up quite late, so it was not uncommon for him to be awake past 4-5 in the morning. Perhaps she could stop by and say goodbye properly and in person, before he's sent off to, wherever it is he's supposed to be going. She got up and departed from the train, walking towards her father's compound.

The District of Loyalty was home to two things; the numerous athletic centers and sports arenas, including the utopian famous "Scootabike Grand Prix" track, and two, the main HQ, training camps and bunkers for the Utopian Enforcers. The Enforces acted as a National Police and Military force, always watching to make sure no foul play was at work. They watched the streets, monitored traffic, and held security in various locations and events. Natasha always thought the enforcers to be rather unnecessary, considering Utopia had a crime rate of approximately 0.001%, and even then it was all miniscule crimes such as trespassing on private property, disturbing the peace, or at worst theft, and even then those happened on extremely rare occasions. She had often questioned her father on why there was a need for so many Enforcers. He explained to her that Utopia had many enemies on the outside, and that we "must be prepared for anything," or something to that extent anyway.

She arrived at the compound, greeted by a tall, iron clad fence. She glanced at the number pad, which illuminated a faint blue glow. She quickly punched in the passcode, having memorized the entrance code during her youth of living in the enforcer headquarters with her father. A small part of the fence had opened up and she walked inside as it closed behind her.

She walked briskly across the compound. In her youth she had memorized the layout of the entire area, Mess halls and dining to the left side, low rank barracks to the right, and of course, the C.O. Housing. Her father was a very high rank leader amongst the enforcer units, joining when he was young, following in the footsteps of his military background father. Natasha's dad eventually worked through the ranks to become one of the top ground Commanding Officers in Utopia.

Natasha walked up the stairs until she got to a large portion of the building kindly labeled "Statnik". She pressed her thumb against the door handle, hoping that her father hadn't locked her out of the system. The door clicked open. She smiled to herself, relieved her father didn't think to permanently lock her out.

She opened the door cautiously, attempting to be careful should her father be busy at work. "Hello?" she said softly, peering into the room. "Hello?" she asked louder. The rooms were completely pitch black. "Lights on," she said clearly. The light came on, making Natasha slightly wince, but she slowly adjusted. She looked around the rooms, noticing many of her father's personal belongings were no longer there.

"Father must have left…" she said aloud to herself. She looked around the house, seeing if her father was possibly asleep in his room. She opened the door to his room only to see that the bed was empty. She realized that when he called, he must've left immediately afterwards. She sat down on the couch, thinking about her father's "new position".

It was strange. Her father never kept any secrets from her, Utopia never did. Even when the enforcers were deployed to the outside, they knew where they going, they knew what kind of danger they were going to be in, and the public was always informed. So why would they start keeping secrets now?

Natasha walked over to her father's desk, hoping to get some sort of answers to her questions, some sort of clue to her father's whereabouts. She was aware her curiosity was getting the best of her but at the moment she didn't quite care. Besides, it's not like she had anything better to do at 4:30 in the morning.

Upon her father's desk was his large currently offline touch screen computer, which was approximately two yards in length, as well as the screen mounted onto the wall. Also on his desk were three framed pictures. The first picture was that of her grandfather, wearing his original Russian military coat, with numerous medals. Her grandfather used to be a high ranking officer in the Russian military, however, after realizing his country was doomed to fall, he defected with his son to Utopia, where they have been serving as enforcers ever since.

The second photo was that of Natasha herself, wearing a beautiful sun dress while walking around the gardens in the District of Kindness. She smiled to herself, remembering just how fabulous she was looking that day, and how beautiful the flowers were. She made a mental note to go visit the gardens again soon, perhaps to get some sort of inspiration.

The third photo was that of her mother who coincidentally, was also wearing a beautiful sundress while walking around the gardens in the District of Kindness. At this, Natasha's heart skipped a beat. Natasha's mom served alongside her father as an enforcer, and was eventually deployed to the surface to search for possible new citizens. However, the conditions of the surface world were so harsh, she eventually developed severe lung cancer. While Utopia's technology was far superior to that of anything else, they still lacked a cure for cancer. By the time they got her back to the hospitals, it was far too late. The cancer was terminal, and had spread too quickly. Natasha remembered being a little girl, watching as they put her mommy in a box, and lifted her through the elevator chute. She was five years old at the time. Natasha smiled while looking at the photo, trying to hold back a tear or two. If one did a side by side comparison of Natasha and her mother, it was obvious who she inherited her incredible looks from.

She put down the photos and touched the center of the console to activate it. Immediately it asked for a password. She typed in the passcode, and accessed the computer. Her father's computer was one of the most enhanced models in the world. As such, it made an excellent drawing tablet for her designs. She would often sneak onto her father's computer to draw, and then transfer her drawings to her Datapad for comparison. While sometimes she would get scolded for this because of his secure documents, Natasha would constantly remind him that she could care less for the military files.

Ironically, today is the day she actually does care about those files. She scrolled over to the most recent files hoping to find something. She saw many file names. Enforcer deployment, new recruit ID lists, Mess Hall menu, but then she found something that caught her eye; Operation: Mayflower [Classified]. She opened it, unleashing a plethora of files. The first one that caught her eye was a layout blueprint of utopia, only she was confused as to the design of it. On the layout she saw four layers. "Four? That can't be right, there are only three…" she said aloud to herself.

Area 1 was the administrative offices up on the surface. Enforcers guarding the front entrance were stationed there, as well as other Utopian officials. In the offices, paperwork was handled as well as other official business of the Utopia that involved deployment and other population matters.

Area 2 was the nation itself. It was where everyone lived, and all the Nine Districts were outlined; six based on the elements of harmony, two based on the princesses, and new town, the Utopian name for the district where new residents lived to get acquainted to Utopian culture. Other administrative offices were there as well, considering that new town is where the extensive "sorting" process took place.

Area 3 was the underground layer. This is where all the maintenance work took place. Down there, an immense network of pipes and power lines ran through to various districts. Supply line trains ran underneath the various districts, ensuring each district has enough supplies such as food, water, medical supplies, etc.

_So what is this unknown Area 4, and more importantly, why wasn't the public aware of its existence? _Could this Area 4 be the place where her father was sent, and if so what is down in area 4 that requires the excommunication of his family? She found another file named Operation Mayflower: Details [Classified]

She opened it, and she was faced with numerous reports, filled with scientific mumbo-jumbo she didn't quite understand. Several words popped out to her though, such as "wormhole", "Quantum teleportation", "Selection process", "Begin immediately", and "Classified project".

"Selection process?" she said to herself. She clicked on the link provided. The screen filled with the identities of several citizens of Utopia. Next to each photo was what appeared to be a strand of DNA. The DNA then had several sections lit up various colors. Each DNA strand had different sections lit up for each person. She scrolled through the lists of people until she stopped when she saw her picture and name. She looked next to the DNA strand, gasping at what she saw.

Almost the entire strand was highlighted. What did it mean? What was so crucial in her DNA that it be involved in a highly classified project, in an area of Utopia that doesn't even exist? She began to feel herself sweating slightly, shaking mildly out of nervousness. Her eyes were completely focused on that strand of DNA that was bursting with color. Hesitantly she moved to click on her profile. As soon as she was about to, the entire screen was covered with a red message followed by loud beeps.

WARNING: UNAUTHORIZED USER

TERMINATING SESSION IN 10 SECONDS.

The screen counted down. "Nononononononononononono," panicked Natasha. "What does it mean? What does it mean?" she screamed. The screens turned black, and the beeping ceased. Natasha tried desperately to power the machine back on, but unfortunately her efforts were in vain. She sunk into a chair. Not only did it appear her father was involved in some sort of Utopian conspiracy, but she might be a huge part of it as well. There were so many questions running through her mind, so many answers she didn't have. And what was up with that error message? All her years of messing around on her father's computer, and not once did such a message, or such horrible beeping occur. That alarm practically gave her a heart attack.

Despite all of these questions running through her mind, she felt herself getting more and more sleepy. Before she left, she went into the bathroom cabinet and grabbed a bottle of sleeping medication for future use. She thought she might as well save herself the trip.

She left the compound as quickly as she could, rushing towards the metro station for a direct ride to the district of generosity. On the ride back, she struggled to keep herself awake. There was no way she would be sleeping on the train tonight. That behavior was reserved for the caff-drunks in the District of Laughter.

She re-entered her flat, tired, exhausted and horribly confused. She removed her coat and put on her night clothes as she slid into her bed, welcoming the warm sheets and soft pillows with open arms. With her last few moments of consciousness, she drifted into a warm, blissful sleep, thanking Celestia that tomorrow was her day off.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Jason**

Jason opened his eyes to the insistent buzzing of his Datapad. He groaned, reaching for his bedside table as he simultaneously tried to untangle himself from his sheets. He only had that annoying thing for two reasons, checking the statuses of the greenhouses he was in charge of, and keeping in touch with his only friend.

Jason finally managed to find the Datapad. He folded it into the phone configuration, and silenced the vibrations with the tap of a finger

"What," Jason grumbled, "could you possibly want at nine in the morning on my day off?"

"My house," Connor said. "I have something to show you." With that Jason's best friend hung up.

Jason groaned and flung his Datapad away, trusting the heavy duty case to protect it from any damage. Why, he thought. Why can't he just let me have my day off, just once?

Jason cursed Conner's name all throughout his morning routine. By the time he laced up his work boots, Jason had used up his vocabulary and began trying to think up new words. He whisked past his mother and little brother in the kitchen, explained that he was going to Connor's around a mouthful of toast and apple juice, and left out the back door. He hopped on his scoota-bike, and was soon racing down the extra-wide roads of the District of Honesty, dodging farm equipment as he went.

The District of Honesty was busy this time of year, the second harvest of the year had just begun, and the fields were being scoured of their produce by giant industrial combines, ready to be sent to the processing plants in the District of Generosity. Jason sped past a particularly large combine, marveling once again at the way the bike obeyed his command. Connor had built it by hand the summer before, obsessed with creating the most powerful yet energy saving engine he could. Jason always seemed to be getting the products of Connor's projects, and he was perfectly fine with this. After all, he had the best scoota-bike in Utopia.

Jason got off at the nearest metro station. The metros of this district were easy to find. With the majority of the land taken up by fields and multi story greenhouses, the metros stuck out like sore thumbs. Jason stepped into the elevator and pressed the key to go to the track that would lead to the District of Magic. He was whisked upward, and he had a brief bird's eye view of the miles and miles of fields, with small clusters of buildings breaking the uniformity, before the elevator sighed to a stop. Jason walked down the empty hallways, slid his metro card through the scanner and pushed through.

The metros of the district of honesty hardly ever ran, most of the time the residents just stayed at home, working round the clock to provide the fruits and vegetables that feed the entire Utopia. All shipping was done in the Underdark, the layer of the utopia full of shipping trains and power plants. Jason shuddered, the Underdark was suppose to be a terrible place, dank and dark, full of moving parts and loud noises, the exact opposite of the open spaces of the District of Honesty.

As expected, the car Jason stepped into was empty. He sat down across from the door, propping his feet against the pole that was in front of him, and waited till the sensors registered his body heat, motion, and weight. There was a quiet grinding as the brakes were released and the metro took off, accelerating towards his destination.

Jason pulled out his datapad and began to check the statuses on his greenhouses. Numbers one through 14 were almost ready, but 15 was still lagging behind. Jason puzzled over this briefly before shrugging it off, it was his day off after all. _I'll worry about it later._

The metro slowed as it prepared to turn, and Jason shifted slightly to accommodate the change in speed and momentum. The world outside was a colorful blur, and Jason felt the movements of the metro beginning to lull him to sleep. He slouched further into his seat and let his mind wander as he stared at nothing. He briefly wondered what was in store for him at Connor's house before he just began to think of nothing in particular.

His Datapad began to buzz and Jason sighed before tugging it out of his pocket. "Yeah? What is it?"

Connor's voice filtered into his ear. "Track number 36 is closed for maintenance. Switch over to 41 at the next station."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Roger that."

"And then wait three stops before switching over to 15. That should take you over to Clover Station, and then you can just walk."

"Why can't I just take 41 to 37?"

"Because 37 is swamped. There seems to be a lot of activity, lots of people want to go to Central Towers, I guess. Maybe some school groups or something. Anyway, just listen to me; I know what I'm doing."

Jason threw up a lazy salute, "Yes sir..."

"Good." And Connor hung up again.

Jason shoved the Datapad back into his pocket, intending to follow Connor's instructions to the letter.

:.:.:

Jason plodded up the steps to Connor's house and pressed the doorbell. There was a fair whirl and click as the door unlocked and slid open, inviting Jason in. "I'm here," Jason walked through the silent house, making his way to the basement, where he knew Connor would be. When he opened the door he was assaulted with the deep pounding of electronic bass. "Holy-", Jason examined the strange foam fixed to the back of the door. "Sound proofing. Huh."

When he got to the foot of the stairs Jason saw Connor at his desk, which was littered with wrappers, paper, and an assortment of monitors.

"Howdy Connor, what's up?"

"Analyzing. I got a lot of footage from the concert last night."

"So you did go, huh?"Jason walked over and dropped into a spare swivel chair, rolling it back and forth slightly with his legs. "You have fun?"

"Maybe," Connor tossed him a notepad, a strange thing from the Old World, when people shredded trees for the heck of it. "I wrote a detailed account of my night. You tell me if I had fun."

Jason began flipping through the thin pages. "I know I keep asking, but where the hay do you get these anyway?"

"It's recycled paper. I know a guy who works in the District of Kindness; apparently Enforcers sometimes bring back books and stuff, things made from paper. They copy the writing and then take the paper and recycle it. Thing is hardly anyone uses the paper besides us, the people of the District of Magic. So we get all the recycled stuff, and when we get done with it or throw it out, they get it and re-recycle it. It's an endless cycle. Funny how we can do it but the Old Worlders never managed to do it large scale."

"Yeah," Jason said. "How could humanity be so wasteful?"

Connor shrugged and returned to his monitors, "Who knows? Maybe they didn't have the Love and Tolerance we have or something."

"Hey can you turn it down a little? I can't hear myself think."

Connor obliged, turning it down. "Sorry, didn't notice."

"So who is this 'Alpha Beat' guy? Is he a big thing or something?"

"Yeah, he is the most famous musician in the district. He has revolutionized the way music is preformed and heard."

"Oh."

"Never heard of him, huh?"

"Not till today!"

Connor chuckled and went back to taking notes on a recording that was playing on his datapad. "Well it was...interesting, to say the least."

"And this Ashley Diaz person, she's that famous Scoota-Biker, right?"

"Yeah."

"Dang Connor, you sure do meet a lot of people."

Connor shrugged, "It's whatever."

Jason watched Connor work, occasionally flipping through the notepad. "You've been up all night, yeah?"

Connor nodded. "Caff-drinks. Those things are potent."

"Those Giggle Shot things sound like fun, why do they make you laugh anyway?"

"I'm looking into it, but the company keeps it a secret."

"Why? It's not like there are a lot of competitors."

"Old habits die hard, Jason."

"Guess so. So what's the point of all this anyways?" Jason passed the notebook back to Connor. "I mean, why music?"

"Why not? Music is a very important part of humanity, of Utopia. Hay, it's always been important to Humans. Since the beginning of the fandom, Bronies have expressed their love for the show through music."

"So you want to...compare the old music to the new?"

"Eenope, I want to see the way music effects people. Old World scientists figured out that music has many positive effects on people. I read that it boosts productivity, memory, mood, and sharpens your senses, I just wonder if it's true."

"Well is it?"

"From what I can tell, yeah. But it does much more than that."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure what, but there is something else."

Jason smiled and leaned back in his chair, scooting it backwards across the floor. "And when you find out what that something is...then what?"

Connor shrugged. "I'll find a new project. Why?"

"Just wondering if I get any new toys," Jason joked.

"Speaking of which, how's the bike treating you? Any problems?"

"Eenope! Rides like a dream, and still powerful as anything. It's at half charge."

"Last time you recharged it?"

"'Bout a month ago."

Connor smiled in satisfaction. "Good. Glad you like it."

Jason got up and paced around the room, checking out all of Conner's projects that he still had. There was a plenty of clutter on the shelves, yet everything was neatly labeled. _That's Connor for you_, Jason thought. _Organized._

"So...," Jason began. "Those Fony chicks seemed to like you."

"Whatever."

Jason chuckled. "Oh come on, you know you liked it."

"That's beside the point."

"Oh come on, which was cuter, Breeze or Dew?"

"No comment."

Jason shrugged and went to go tinker with a hologram projector. "What about Ashely? I bet she was hot in a sporty way."

Connor grunted.

"Maybe you next project should be a girlfriend."

"Oh jeez, you sound like a mom."

"Oh Connor," Jason said in a high pitched voice. "Did you finish your homework?"

Connor cracked a smile and paused the recording. "Yeah, and I did my chores too."

"That's my baby! So responsible!"

"Sweet Celestia, you do that too well. Stop before you hurt yourself."

"Eat your veggies sweetie."

"All of our foods are vegetables you nerd-bomber."

Jason laughed. "Don't back talk me!"

"Or what? Are you going to ground me?"

Just then the doorbell rang.

"Huh?"

"You order a pizza or something?"

"Not that I know of..."

They went up stairs and looked through the peep hole. "What the-," Connor scrambled to open the door.

"What? Who is it."

"Adam."

Jason frowned. "Who?"

Suddenly the door slid open and in stepped in a guy with the weirdest hair Jason had ever seen.

"Suppies, kid," He said. "You ready for part two?"


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Ashley**

"I gotta hand it to you, Adam." The young girl said exhaling a sigh of relaxation as she pulled herself up from the bed. "You sure do know how to treat a girl right." Adam looked up, smiling as he saw his friend jump out of bed to stretch, with no clothes, as usual.

Adam was respected by Ashley for many reasons, but one of the main ones was his uncanny ability to keep up with the girl. "Yep, just gonna sit here and keep being awesome."

She turned around, staring at him, lying there shirtless. She looked at his face, smiling to herself. Very few people were aware of his true appearance. While his party shades and holo hair did a great job of making him the life of the party, Ashley was the only one his few "friends" to see him with the glasses off. She glanced at his short messy brown hair and bold red eyes, and grabbed his chin, pulling him closer to her.

Adam looked into Ashley's magenta colored eyes and smiled. "What?"

She smiled. "Natural," she whispered to herself, smiling with her near pearly white teeth. Adam smiled, understanding what she meant. Adam and Ashley were very unique in the sense that their odd eye color was "natural" and not enhanced by contacts or advanced eye surgery, a mutation caused by some biological weapon that was released during the Collapse.

"Are you ever going to stop being amazed by that?" Adam asked teasingly.

"It's not every day you meet someone with the same weirdo trait as you," she responded

"It's also not every day you meet a weirdo. Yet here you are," he countered.

"Right, this coming from the guy with holo hair. Get those shades from your Fony friends?" she smiled.

"Oh what about you and you're rainbow "mane"? You're telling me that's not Fony stuff?"

"Hey, my hair is awesome. Fonies are… just weird."

"Hey, Fonies are people to. They sure as hell know how to party hard."

Ashley pulled him in closer to her. "Not nearly as hard as you," she said seductively, pulling him in to kiss him. Adam didn't fight her, letting himself push into her. They separated, and Ashley turned around.

"I can't stay too much longer. I have to leave early for practice," Ashley stated.

"Aw man," Adam groaned. "And here I thought we were starting to have fun," He smiled teasingly.

Ashley giggled, and smiled mischievously. "I still need a hot shower you know."

Adam smiled, taking that as his cue. He threw the blankets off of himself and leapt off of the bed, exposing himself completely and landing next to Ashley. He playfully pushed her into the shower room, both laughing as they closed the door, and turned on the hot water.

:.:.:

Ashley came out of the bedroom, drying off her hair as she dressed for practice. She walked to the door, fully dressed in her track outfit. She wore a bright aqua blue tank top, with a blue jacket with a white stripe across the chest, a pair of tight black track short shorts underneath her longer black and white striped track pants. She walked over to the fridge, removing a carton of orange juice and grabbing a muffin off of the stove.

"Great in bed, and fresh breakfast, what more could a girl ask for?" said Ashley, looking over at Adam.

"About 2,000 pairs of shoes, three beauty tip magazines, a trip to the spa, and countless men to bitch about," said Adam, still in his towel with a Datapad in his hands.

Ashley gave him a teasingly dirty look. "Only two of those are right." Adam raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? And what would those be?" questioned Adam.

"Well for one, you know how many sneakers I burn through." stated Ashley.

"Uh-huh, and?"

"Well…you know how much I hate spas and beauty mags," she said with disgust pronouncing the word beauty, and mags in the same sentence.

"Annnnd," said Adam expectantly.

"Oh come on, don't take away my ability to bitch about men."

"Called it!" exclaimed Adam, a look of victory on his face.

Ashley scoffed, playfully ignoring his rude comment. "What are you doing in your towel anyway? Shouldn't you be getting ready?"

"For what?"

"I dunno, DJ things?"

"I am doing DJ things!"

"You're checking your fan page."

"Well, reading fan mail is important."

"Oh please, you're just inflating your ego. How many fan girls do you have squabbling over you this time?"

"Only a little bit more than you"

Ashley laughed. "For the last time, I was joking!"

"And until I see proof of that, I'll continue to bother you with it."

Ashley jumped over the couch, landing next to him in the seat. "I thought last night was plenty of proof for you."

"As is every other night."

"Well isn't that enough."

"Maybe I'm not convinced."

"You're impossible" she smiled.

"And you're hot."

"You're funny."

"And you're beautiful."

Both of them paused. Very rarely did Adam say something sweet like that, but when he did, it was random, unexpected, and Ashley loved it. They weren't "officially" boyfriend and girlfriend, but anyone who had met the two knew something was going on between them.

"I know," said Ashley, kissing him on the cheek. She stood up and walked towards the door. "I'm busy all day today, so I won't be home for a while"

"Good luck at practice!" shouted Adam, returning to his Datapad.

"Thanks, I'll be home tonight" Ashley shouted back.

"Alright, later"

"Later".

Ashley heard the door slide shut behind her and she made her way towards the stairs, ignoring the bank of elevators. She launched herself down the stairs, leaping down them, smirking when she flew by someone. She busted out of the stairwell and into the lobby, slowing to a fast walk. She sidestepped a small group of Holo-dancers as they stumbled toward the elevators, ready to call it a day. Ashley chuckled. _Nocturnals. _

Ashley stepped out of the apartment and quickly located her bike, she grinned at how several people glanced at it as they made their way down the street. It was a CloudChaser, one of the sleekest and most powerful recreational Scootabikes out there. It was fast, comfortable, handles like a dream, and most importantly looked wonderful. All sleek curves and soft edges, and light blue with silver decals and highlights. Ashley threw her leg over it, settling onto the bike with a content sigh.

The bike awoke at her touch, the engine humming and controls lighting up. Ashley smiled and slid on her helmet, the speakers in it faintly playing the start-up jingle. Ashley disengaged the kickstands and the magnets engaged, causing the engine's hum to grow. She walked the bike backwards, backing up into the street, before leaning forward and twisting the throttle.

Her bike took off with a whine, the magnets pushing the bike forward. Ashley grinned, this was her life.

The world around her turned into a blur as Ashley speed off towards the Laughter-Loyalty border. The road wound through the maze of buildings; apartments, clubs, bars, and shops zipping by. Ashley let out a laugh as she maneuvered her way through an alley, several Puppeteers leaping out of the way, their holographic bodies flickering off from the surprise. Ashley was coasting towards an intersection when her helmet pinged. She groaned, then answered the incoming call.

"What?"

"Uh, hey Ashley….we have a problem."

"Look, Derek, I'm going to be there is like, ten minutes. Can't it wait?"

"Um, I guess, it's just that your bike has a problem with the-"

"I said I'll be there soon. I mean Luna! You call yourself my mechanic?"

"Sorry Ashley, see you soon."

Ashley gritted her teeth and merged with the oncoming traffic. The roads of Utopia were under populated. Hardly anyone drove anywhere, and if they did it was usually just with a scootabike, or they took the metro. Shipping was mostly handled in the Underdark, so there were virtually no large delivery trucks. Ashley gunned the engine and accelerated, the magnets of her bike detecting the grid beneath the road.

_What the hay did those idiots do_, Ashley thought, _I swear if they mess up my bike before that race I have next week…_

Soon the District of Laughter faded away into the smaller, less impressive buildings of the District of Loyalty. Ashley glanced at the rear display window on her helmet and watched as Laughter began to recede, smiling slightly. Laughter was fun, and Adam was there, but Loyalty is and will always be her home. She glanced around the road, noting that a majority of the traffic was people like her. Large groups of Scoota-bikers were moving in unison, like flocks of birds or schools of fish. A rainbow of different colors and models, flowing around each other, several Scoota-bikers shouting and cheering when one of their group does a trick or began racing another.

Ashley focused on the road again, glancing at the map on her HUD. She accelerated past a group and continued on her way, CloudChaser humming loudly.

:.:.:

Ashley pulled into the garage at the practice track, leaping off of her bike as soon as it settled.

"What the buck did you guys do to my bike!"

Her group of mechanics and the rest of her crew were standing or sitting beside her what use to be her racing bike, pieces of it on trays or tables around the frame. Derek stood up and gestured sheepishly to the mess. "We ran into a problem with the-"

"You ran into a problem!? The problem is that you tore my baby to shreds! You guys are the stupidest bucking mechanics in the whole Celestia-damned city! Ugh! I mean who tears apart a bike like this!? You know how many bits it took to make this wonderful creation? How the hay am I suppose to race next week when all I have is an empty bucking shell of a bike? How?"

Ashley glared at Derek, her chief mechanic, waiting for a reply.

"We don't know why it won't run. We tested everything, and everything should work, but it's not. The best guess we have is to dismantle it, clean everything, and then put it back together. We've been doing that since yesterday."

Ashley threw her hands up in the air and sighed with exasperation. "This is why we can't have nice things!"

She turned around and kicked at a toolbox, launching it at the wall. "Ugh!" and with that the rainbow haired girl stormed out of the garage, cursing the universe with all her might._ Bucking hay, I should just scrap the thing and build a new one. _Ashley stared across the lot, gazing at the curves of the track meditatively. She groaned and then tapped her wrist phone, activating the voice control. "Call Adam."

The phone wrapped around her forearm chirped and began the dial sequence. Ashley brought her hand up to her ear, cupping it. She waited for him to answer.

"Yeah, babe?"

She smiled unconsciously. "Hey, I need a distraction."

"I'll call the Enforcers, get you a raid or something. Or a bombing! How does a bombing sound?"

"Not that kind dork. I mean to keep my mind off the fact that my bike is broken."

"Oh Celestia, what's wrong?"

"Incompetent mechanics."

"Oh come on love, don't be like that. They try hard."

"Whatever, so what's up? You doing DJ things?"

"Yeah, thinking about accepting an invitation to some formal party thing that I got from a Spire-Freak."

"Ooo, posh posh! Alpha Beat sure knows how to get around with the cliques."

"Yeah, he sure does, that friendly bastard. Is there anything I can do to help? With the bike?"

"It's not a song, Adam. Unless if you are some sort or mechanical genius or something."

Adam was silent for a moment, a rare thing with him.

"Well, I might not be a mechanical genius," He said. "But I know where to find one."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. We met him last night."

Ashley racked her brain. "Wait… you don't mean-"

"Yuppers! Looks like I get to pay Carter a visit!"

"Wasn't his name Connor?"

"Yeah, that's what I said. Later babe! See ya in a bit!"

Ashley stared at her wrist phone for a moment before shaking her head and walking back into the garage. Her crew was busy going through bundles of wire, sorting them out on a work bench with care. "Looks like I have a solution to our problem boys," Ashley turned over a bucket to sit on. "And it isn't just scrapping the bucking thing."

"What is it?" One of them, Steven, questioned. "You have a replacement for Derek or something?"

"Maybe a replacement for your lazy ass, Steven. Now shut your trap and get this place organized. We're going to have an expert coming in and I want this place looking ship-shape!"


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Seth**

The house was empty of course; he had waited till the residents had left before crawling in through the hole in the back wall. It was dark inside, the sun had barely risen when the three men who were squatting here left, and the morning sun couldn't penetrate through the grime covered windows.

Seth crept through the house, alert for any sounds or movement that could mean danger. He passed through the remnants of a living room or den, the furniture worn down and rotting. There were scraps of paper and empty cans everywhere. Seth cursed under his breath; it looked like they had a feast last night. He hoped they had left something over. Just then his eyes played across something white sticking out of a pile of trash. A bone, and Seth got the uneasy feeling that it was human. He shuddered and kept moving.

The next room was a kitchen, and it was in slightly better shape than the living room. There was a hole in the ceiling letting in light, dispelling the gloom. There were a few candles on a table made from two sawhorses and a few planks of wood, along with a knife stuck into a pile of wet cardboard. Seth yanked the knife out and inspected it. It looked reasonably sharp, better than his knife at least, and he quickly slid it into his boot next to the other. He straightened up and listened carefully. The house was still quiet; there was only the faint sound of birds outside. Seth let out a sigh and moved to the cabinets, many of which were amazingly still attached to the wall.

He rummaged through the cabinets quickly. He found a can of green beans in one, along with some corn and a loaf of bread wrapped in saran wrap. He pealed back the plastic and lightly pressed on the bread. It was hard, probably stale. Seth slid it into his bag anyway. He moved onto the next cabinet, letting out a gasp when he saw the contents.

Inside were three vials of a light blue liquid. Seth scrabbled for it, gripping the the thin glass containers. He knew what they were before he checked the faded labels. Radiation medicine, no doubt from the fabled Utopia itself. Seth smiled for the first time in a long time; this was just what he needed for hi-

The front door opened with a thud, accompanied by cruel laughter. Seth froze, looking towards the front of the house. He silently closed the cabinet and slid towards the wall beside the doorway into the kitchen.

"Stop squirming or I swear that I will blow your fucking brains all over the place you bitch!"

Seth tried to calm his breathing, not wanting to alert them of his presence with terrified breathing.

"Dude, calm the fuck down, why would you waste bullets on something like this? We could just slit her throat like we did the last one."

_Two different voices_, Seth counted. That meant at least two people, along with the faint sounds of someone struggling to escape. Seth knew that sound. Hell, he made those sounds a few times. Three people at least, one not there willingly.

"Both of you shut up, why would we kill her? I still want to have _fun_ with this one!"

"And then after we use her we have dinner too!" Laughter sounded. Cruel, crazy laughter.

_Three. Fuck_, Seth groaned internally. That means that they had all returned. _I am so fucked!_

There was the sound of scuffling boots as they made their way past the kitchen. Seth tensed up, eyes wide. They moved past, cursing at their captive.

Seth counted to five before glancing out of the kitchen and down the hall towards the old living room. More laughter poured out from there. Seth glanced the other way towards the front of the house. He swallowed and began to creep towards out of the kitchen, planning on making his escape.

"What the fuck!"

Seth whirled around and saw one of the men standing slack jawed in the hallway. They stared at each other for a full second before Seth whipped back around and took off.

"Shit! A fucking-"

Seth tore through the house, passing through a dining room. There were shouts and loud thundering behind him as Seth wormed his way through a hole in the wall behind an overturned chair. _Shitshitshitshitshitshit._

He dashed across the open road, towards the thick foliage of what was once a park or something. There was a gunshot, and Seth heard a bullet whiz past his ear. He ducked, pushing into a wall of plant matter-

-and right into a chain linked fence.

"No!" Seth shouted, pressing against the metal fence. "Shit! Nonononono!"

There were footsteps and heavy breathing behind him. Seth turned around quickly and stared wide-eyed at the men. Three of them, one dark-skinned and carrying an old baseball bat with dark stains along it. Another one was small and skinny, holding a knife in two hands, and twitching spastically. _He is on something_, Seth thought. _This is bad, very very bad._

The third one walked up slowly, a gun in his hand. Some sort of pistol, dark black. It looked sinister, more dangerous than any knife or bat.

"Well well well. What do we have here? Some rat stealing something that doesn't belong to it?" Gun-guy said mockingly. His voice was high-pitched and he had the gleam in his eye that Seth had seen before, the gleam of a man who loved to kill.

Seth tried to put on a brave face and stand up taller."You don't have any idea wh-"

"-who I am messing with? You sound so fucking brave, rat! Now shut the fuck up!" Gun-guy advanced on Seth, prompting the others to follow suit. "Now, you are going to fork over whatever your sorry ass decided to steal," He pressed the gun into Seth's chest. "And maybe I wo- what the fuck?"

Gun-guy pressed the gun into his chest more, prodding the object Seth keeps hidden there. "The fuck is that?" Seth let in a shuddery breath. "I-it's my-"

"You have some jewelry, rat?" Gun-guy suddenly slipped the hand that wasn't holding the gun up Seth's shirt and grabbed the object. "What the…" He yanked his arm down, snapping the cord around Seth's neck, and bringing the object out.

Gun-guy stared at the object. "You have got to be shitting me!"

There, cupped in Gun-guy's grubby hands, was Seth's most prized possession.

Fluttershy.

Gun-guy began to laugh. "Is this legit? Are you fucking me bro? This is a pony! A motherfucking pony! Oh shit!" The two other goons began to chuckle. "Oh my fucking God! You're one of those people! A motherfucking Brony!"

Seth grimaced.

The men were laughing heard now, Knife cackling and Bat-guy chuckling. Gun-guy looked back at Seth with a look of astonishment on his face. "Oh shit this is fucking hilarious!" He turned to his gang. "We have a motherfucking Brony here gents! An honest to God pony-fag!" Seth took a step to the side, beginning to inch is way to the left. Gun-guy whirled back to Seth. "Don't move piss-head!" Seth froze again. "I swear to fucking God if you move I'll shoot you in your fucking pony-loving head!" The Gun-guy grinned. "Or how's about," He turned the gun and pressed it against the toy. "How's about I just blow this bitch to smithereens!" He cackled at that, hunching over slightly. "Oh shit this is so fucking hilarious! Hey faggot, how come you aren't down in that sparkling city of yours? There something wrong with you? How come you and Pussy-Pony aren't down south living like kings?"

Seth took a deep breath. "Her name," he said. "Is Fluttershy." And with that Seth promptly launched his foot into Gun-guy's crotch.

Gun guy let out a wheeze and crumpled towards the ground. Seth grabbed his head and slammed his knee into Gun-guy's face, feeling the fragile bones of his nose crumpling. At the same time Seth reached down into his boot and grabbed the first knife. Seth launched it spinning into Bat-guy's neck. Red blood spewed out of his thick throat, all over Knife, who turned around and took off screaming. Seth bent down and scooped up the gun, aiming at the back of the fleeing man. Seth squeezed the trigger three times, and watched as Knife stumbled with each impact of a bullet before falling over and skidding to a stop. Seth sighed and turned back to Gun-guy, now gun-less and curled up into a ball, hands cupping the river of blood flowing out of his broken nose. Seth walked over and flipped Gun-guy onto his sorry back with his foot. "I-I'm thowwy!" Gun-guy blubbered. "Please spaiw me! I-I'll gif you anthang y-you want! Please!"

Seth frowned at the man. "I'm sorry." And lifted the gun and fired.

Seth stared at the dead man for a moment before kneeling and searching the broken pavement. He soon found Fluttershy and inspected her. There was a speck of blood on her flank, which Seth quickly scrubbed off with his thumb. "I'm sorry you had to see that," He whispered quietly to her. "I just had to. You understand, right?" Fluttershy gazed silently back at him. Seth smiled and retied the cord around his neck.

Standing up Seth walked over to the body of Bat-guy, taking the knife out of his meaty neck and wiped it off on his shirt. Seth looked around quickly, checking to see if the sounds of gunfire had attracted any unwanted attention. He saw movement in his peripheral vision and whipped his his head towards it. Standing in the doorway of the now unused house was a little girl.

Seth stood up slowly, sticking the gun into his bag. "Hey. It's okay," He said quietly. "I got them. They won't hurt you anymore." The little girl gestured for him to come over, so Seth obliged, walking slowly and carefully across the street.

As he got nearer he began to pick up on her features. She couldn't be older than ten and her face and arms were smeared with dirt. But what he picked up on most was her eyes. _Green_, he noted. _Just like…_

Seth crouched down in front of her. "Hey," he said. The little girl took a timid step forward. "I think that I have something in here for you," Seth reached around and pulled off his backpack. "It's stale…but it's better than nothing." He reached into the bag and pulled out the loaf of bread. "Here you go."

The little girl stared wide eyed at the bread. "Go on, take it." Seth smiled encouragingly. The little girl's hand suddenly shot forward and snatched the loaf from his hands. "There you go!"

The little girl tore off the plastic wrap from around it and began tearing off giant chunks of the bread. Seth watched her eat with small smile. When she was done she looked back up at him and smiled back, small teeth surprisingly white. "So, where do you live?" Seth questioned. "I can take you there if you want." The smile disappeared from her face just as quickly as it had appeared.

"They killed my daddy." She said with tears welling in her eyes. "They told him to give them food but he wouldn't and then they said they would do stuff to me and then the one with the knife poked daddy's neck with it and then there was blood and then daddy screamed for me to run but I wasn't fast enough and then they got me and I looked back to daddy and he was dead." She let out a hiccupping sob and buried her face in her hands.

Seth looked away, feeling awkward. The little girl fell to her knees and continued to bawl, face pressed against her hands as she let out sob after sob. She continued to babble about her dad through the cries. Seth waited, glancing over his shoulder constantly to make sure her crying wasn't attracting any unwanted attention. "Hey…" he murmured, shaking her slightly. "I'm sorry about your dad, but… if you need someplace safe, I know some people who would be more than happy to take you in. She sniffled before asking who, trying real hard to hold back more tears.

"Okay, do you know where Center Street is? It's just a few blocks north of here." The little girl nodded. "Okay, so go there and on the eastern end of the street there is a building that used to be a post office. Inside there you will find people who will help you."

"Who?" The girl asked again.

"The Enforcers. They will take care of you, trust me."

Seth stood up then and left, double-checking to see if he had everything. "Wait!" the little girl stood up and began to walk towards him. "Take me with you!"

Seth stopped. He knew he had other places to hit today, but he couldn't in good conscience let a small girl walk all by herself to an armed military base, especially in a city like this. After careful consideration, Seth looked at the girl and nodded. "Ok, but stick close to me."

The girl smiled, both of them walking side by side in the city streets. The girl reached up and grabbed his hand with her own. Seth looked down and smiled. While his faith in humanity had been long lost, sometimes, there are small glimmers of hope that remind him that not all humans are bad. Raising his hood over his head, they pressed on to the base of the Enforcers.

A/N: Well if you have made it this far, thank you! We at DarkarC inc really appreciate you taking the time to delve into our story. Don't worry, if you are in here for ponies, they will come soon enough.

Thanks to Nikido Akira for being our Beta!

Seeya!

-DarkarC inc.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Connor**

"And then I said, 'I know one! You met him last night!' and then I caught a ride from one of my friends and here I am!" Connor was staring at Adam, listening to him recite the events that led him to find Connor. They were making their way towards the nearest metro station, Adam explaining in great detail the reasons for his sudden appearance at Connor's door.

Connor glanced over at Jason, who was looking at Adam with a confused look on his face. Connor quickly looked back over at Adam who was trotting beside them with a grin. "Okay, that explains that, but how did you find my house?" Connor questioned. "I mean, I don't remember telling you where I live last night."

Adam's grin grew even wider. "Your dad told me!"

"Uh, what?"

Adam dug through his pockets before pulling out a thin plastic card. "Yeah, he gave me this when he stopped by my dressing room looking for you! Remember that?"

"Not exactly," Connor retorted. "Because as I remember, I was busy being squashed between a door and a wall while you chit-chatted with him!"

Adam laughed. "So you do remember! Wonderful! Quick thinking on my part, eh?"

Connor rolled his eyes. "So where exactly is the practice track?"

"Oh, you know, around five, ten minutes from the Laughter-Loyalty border!"

Connor quickly calculated the time it would take. "So…it's around an hour and a half from here?"

"Pfft," Adam scoffed. "Yeah, if you take the metro!"

Jason gave Connor an even more confused look. "But…," He said. "Isn't that how we are getting there?"

"Nah, I just parked my ride there!"

Just then they rounded the corner and Connor caught sight of a dull, military green, shape. "Oh holy-"

Resting there, surrounded by a crowd of people, was an honest to Celestia pegacopter. The military vehicle had landed in the plaza in front of the metro station, making it look like some sort of sculpture.

Jason let out a whistle as Connor stood there, jaw hanging open. "How the- How do you have a pegacopter!?"

Adam gave a sheepish grin. "I know a guy. He owed me a favor so…"

"Woah," Jason started forward towards the vehicle. "Connor, I honestly had no idea that you were so well connected! When did you get such cool friends?"

"Last night!" Adam piped up. "Don't worry, it's not illegal! He's just going to drop us off on the way to his base. It's just an exercise to see how it's running before they go and fly it out to some distant country."

They made their way towards the hulking machine. The pegacopters were the main aerial transport for Enforcers outside of Utopia. They were nimble, fast, and came with an assortment of weapons. Everything from live ammunition to a smaller , less powerful version of the non-organic material absorbing microbes that the OFCs had. They were radiation proof, had EMP protected internals, and could survive the forces of a category four hurricane. They could take off vertically, yet once in the air the propellers shifted inside the wings, providing excellent maneuverability. To say that they were impressive would be an understatement.

Plus, they just looked so bad-ass.

Connor, Adam, and Jason pushed and wormed their way through the crowd, ignoring the protests of the people they pushed out of the way. Once under one of the wings, Adam pounded a beat into the side of the pegacopter, singing under his breath.

The pegacopter was silent and motionless.

"Ugh, you have got to be…" Adam mumbled. "Oi! Jeff! Open the buck up ya ignoramus!"

There was movement in the cockpit and suddenly the cargo doors opened with a hiss. "Hey man, sorry! I was sleeping." A young Enforcer was standing just inside of the door, his flight suit unzipped and the sleeves tied around his waist. "So is this them?" He asked, gesturing towards Connor and Jason.

"Eeyup!" Adam nodded. "So come on, let's get this bird in the air!"

Adam shoved Connor and Jason through the opening and into the solid chest of Jeff the Enforcer, who promptly shoved them to the side. "Sorry mates! But I'm gonna need you to buckle up. I'm not really supposed to be transporting civvies, but it's not like I'm doing anything today. Still, I'm not going to come back to base with someone's brains painted all over the inside of my bird because someone who is supposedly a genius doesn't know how to operate a bucking seatbelt." And with that the Enforcer unknotted the sleeves of his flight suit and began to make his way towards the cockpit, putting it on as he went.

"Isn't he just a gem?" Adam said as he plopped into a seat, pulling the restraints over his shoulders and around his waist.

"Er, I guess?" Connor and Jason followed suit, strapping in.

The intercom crackled and Jeff's voice filtered in. "Yo Adam, what do I do about the crowd? Should I tranq them or what?" Adam tried to shrug, but the restraints made that action difficult. "Just beep the horn or something."

"This thing doesn't even have a horn!"

"Then rev the engine or something. Hay, I don't know. This is your plane or whatever!"

"For the last time, this isn't a bucking plane! Celestia, it's like dealing with a little kid…" The intercom hissed off and Adam let out a chuckle.

"Things are about to get funny!"

Just then the external speakers boomed on. "Outta my way, damn it, unless you civvies want to get your hair cut from a pegacopter's props! Trust me, not as fun as it sounds!" The engines roared, drowning out the sounds of surprised screams as the crowd quickly dissipated.

Adam shook his head and shouted towards the cockpit. "Nice one, Jeffy!"

"Thanks, mate!" Jeff's voice sounded from the cockpit. "I thought you might like that!"

"How do you know what a hair cut from a pegacopter feels like?"

"How else do you think they cut our hair so close to the skull? A razor just won't do it!"

Adam and Jason dissolved into laughter as the pegacopter took off towards the District of Loyalty. Connor couldn't help but let out a chuckle; Jeff was kind of amusing. "Oh man," Adam mimed wiping a tear away. "Priceless."

Jason and Adam continued to talk about this and that while Connor brought out his datapad and began typing away at it, checking news sites before pulling up a pegacopter schematic. _Maybe I should do pegacopters next_, he thought, _they do look interesting_. Connor was studying it when he felt the airship beginning to drop. The intercom came to life again. "Thank you for flying Air Enforcer. Please remain buckled in until the pegacopter has stopped moving. If you decide to remove the harnesses, I swear to Celestia you will bucking regret it. Have a wonderful day!" Adam grinned. "Well boys looks like we're here! See, that didn't take long!"

Adam unclipped his harness and stretched.

"Bitch, what did I just tell you?" Jeff shouted over the intercom. "I swear to Celestia! Buck!" and with that the intercom clicked off.

Adam laughed before he sat back down in his seat. "He is so fun to mess with," he remarked with a grin.

The pegacopter continued to sink slowly out of the sky. Connor felt his ears pop once and then suddenly the vehicle stopped. "Okay, everybody out! I'm not setting it down because I don't think that Little Miss Diaz would appreciate a big-ass pegacopter sitting on her track."

Adam slid open the cargo door. "Move, move, move!" he shouted with mock urgency over the whine of the propellers. "Move it or lose it ladies!"

Jason and Connor unstrapped themselves from their seats and jumped the few feet down to the track. Adam leaped out after them. "Thanks Jeff!" He shouted over the roar of the propellers. The pegacopter rose quickly and soon was just a small shape in the sky, heading back to whatever base it called home.

"What the hay, Adam?" The trio turned around to see a rainbow haired girl jogging towards them followed by a group of guys. "Since when did you have a bucking pegacopter?"

Jason let in a sharp breath. "Oh man," He whispered in awe. "It really is Ashley Diaz! I didn't really think that he was serious!"

Adam grinned broadly at Ashley. "Hey babe! You like? I was just borrowing it."

Ashley stopped a few feet in front of him and put her hands on her hips. "Whatever, I see you brought Connor." She nodded her head towards him. "But who is that?"

"This is my friend Jason," Connor explained. "He was over at my house at the time, so we kind of dragged him along with us."

"Nice to meet you Jason, I'm Ashley, and these incompetents are Derek, Steven, Emile, and Roger," she gestured to each in turn. "They are the ones that broke my bike."

"Hey! We didn't do anything to it, it just-"

"Yeah yeah, I get it. Look," She turned to Connor. "Can you fix it?"

"Wait, you want me to fix your bike? As in, I will get to actually fix a professional Scoota-Biker's competitive racing bike?"

"Uh," Ashley looked at him. "Duh? Adam said that you were a mechanical genius."

Connor took in a deep breath_. I get to work on the scoota-bike of Ashley Diaz, _the _Ashley Diaz. This is so awesome!_

"So," Ashley began to look slightly panicked. "You can fix her…right?"

"I should," Connor replied. "I have to see what it is exactly first, but if you have the right tools and everything…"

"Yeah," Jason piped up. "Connor can fix it, he did build his own scoota-bike from scratch. Best one in Utopia."

"Oh yeah?" Ashley cocked a hip and raised an eyebrow. "That's funny, because mine is the best in Utopia."

Jason opened his mouth to argue but Connor quickly cut him off. "Let's just see the bike."

Ashley shrugged and led them into the garage. "There she is," she said, pointing to an assorted pile of parts. "Well, all of her parts at least. They couldn't figure out what was wrong so the just stripped her down…my poor baby…" Ashley suddenly became saddened. "Poor thing, look at what they did to her."

Connor began scanning the piles of parts, noticing a lot of familiar shapes. "Can someone get me some gloves?" One of the mechanics, Emile, handed Connor his pair. Connor put them on and crouched in front of a particularly miscellaneous looking pile. "And can I please have some more light?" Ashley's crew rushed to light up his work space. "Thanks," Connor popped his neck, letting out a small, glee-filled laugh. "Let's get this bike repaired."


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Adam**

Adam watched Connor tinker with a particularly complex looking part.

_Thingamajig! It shall now be known as a thingamajig! I have decreed it, therefore it is true._

Connor flipped over the thingamajig and slid another part into it. There was a click and the thingamajig-other-part combo began to glow. "So that works...," Connor muttered before setting the part aside and grabbing a handful of wires and hosing. "Hey," Connor looked over at Derek. "Do you have a hose like this that's just a bit longer? Like, 10 centimeters longer?"

"Uh," Derek nodded. "I think there are some more over in that workbench."

Connor got up and began rooting through a drawer. "And can I get some sort of sealant? I want to make sure this thing is sealed up tight."

Adam chuckled as Derek frowned and got up, grumbling. They obviously weren't used to some kid giving orders. He turned around and caught sight of the other kid, Jason, making his way towards a bulletin board covered with pictures. They were an oddity; not many people still had the urge to keep physical pictures when you could have millions of digital ones just a few taps away on a Datapad.  
Adam walked over and admired them with Jason. They gazed at a photographic timeline of everything Ashley had done. Adam saw her younger self, her natural black hair not yet dyed into the rainbow it was. She was standing beside one of her first Scootabikes with her two moms smiling proudly. Ashley looked incredibly happy with a gold medal around her neck. In the background you could see a track and in the very distance you could see the skyline of Magic. Adam caught sight of another; Ashley had red tips in her hair, which was shorter than it was in the last picture. She was holding a red and silver trophy, a little smile on her face. A smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, and standing beside her, a gold and blue trophy in his arms, was Kyle.

Kyle was Ashley's rival. They've clashed so many times, neither making much of a lead on the other. They were both excellent Scoota-Bikers, the best in the business, so equally matched that they usually were side by side at the end. There was always those few centimeters that made one or the other come out on top, and the loser left with a burning desire for revenge. There have even been moments when a full on brawl was about to happen. Ashley would get pissed at a snide comment that Kyle would make, usually on camera for all of Utopia to hear, and get whipped into a frenzy and come at him swinging. Celestia have mercy on him if she ever found him at a caffeine bar or a club.

However, recently Ashley had been on a racing hot streak, overtaking Kyle at almost every race. She was also now the two-time champion of the Scootabike Grand Prix. Soon to be three, Adam thought. Both he and Ashley could tell that it was bugging the ever loving crap out of Kyle, which was incredibly hilarious to the two.

Still, this brought to mind the question on why she even had a picture of him in the first place. No other picture showed Ashley with a picture of her with a second place anything. Adam stared at the picture of Kyle and Ashley for a few moments longer before his attention span rang out.

_Oh well_! Adam thought as he left Jason to admire all of Ashley's accomplishments. _I'm sure it's nothing, probably just a slip up or something_. He made his way over to Ashley, who was watching Connor reassemble some part of her bike with a worried look on her face. Like a mother waiting for her child to get out of surgery or something. Adam chuckled, finding it oddly adorable. He walked up beside her and threw an arm over her shoulder.

"Hey, you want to go take a walk? Get your mind off of all this?"

Ashley bit on her thumbnail. "No. Thanks but, I want to be here with her. You know how I am about my bikes."

"Oh I sure do. I'm sure that everything will be fine. Well, I'm going to take that walk. I have somethings to think about."

Ashley looked up at Adam, the corner of her mouth turned up in a small smirk. "What?" She teased. "Adam? Thinking? It must be the end of the world!"

"Oh hush," Adam smiled.

She playfully pushed Adam towards the open garage door. "Go on; get outta here!"  
"Okay fine, jeez!" He turned around and smiled. At least he got her mind off of her bike for a while. He could tell that it was really worrying her and making her upset. He hoped Connor could fix it.

Adam walked away from the garage, looking towards the north and the distant skyline of Laughter. He caught sight of a Party Spire in movement. The floating tower soared slowly out from behind another building, the bright lights along its sides visible even though it was close to the middle of the day, the artificial sunlight pouring in everywhere. Adam studied the Spire, watching it glide magically through the air, no doubt pushed by hundreds of turbines and held aloft by the same technology that caused the Scootabikes to hover. The banks of flashing lights along the side were green, meaning that it belonged to a group of Spire-Freaks known as the Emeralds. Adam thought back to a night long ago when he crashed a party that they were hosting in their tower. It sure was an adventure! He got Jeff to smuggle him a Gliderpack, and he flew from the top of a building onto one of the lower balconies as the spire floated past. Adam laughed, remembering the looks on the faces of a group of Emeralds on the balcony he landed on. Priceless!

Adam looked away from the flying building and saw a formation of pegacopters a little ways off, flying towards a group of buildings that had to be some sort of Enforcer base. The sight of the pegacopters made Adam think back to the ride over to Magic with Jeff. Or more importantly, the conversation they had.

"…_and then I just kicked him onto the metro, like that one Old World movie! You know, the one about those people with the spears and the armor and that bottomless pit or whatever? Anyway, after that Ashley and I went back to my penthouse and we- hey! Are you even listening?" Adam nudged Jeff, from the copilot's seat. "I'm about to give you some pointers!"_

_Jeff sat up straighter and shook his head, the pegacopter shivering a bit. "Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind."_

"_Oh?" Adam questioned. "Well, go ahead and tell me! Lemme guess, girl problems! Haha, reminds me about this one time I met this one Puppeteer and we-"_

"_No." Jeff cut him off. "It's not a girl problem. It's something to do with…well, I'm not sure. It's just something big."_

"_Something big?" Adam began to grow serious. "What do you mean? How big?"_

_Jeff glanced over at Adam. "Dammit…," He flicked off his headset. "Look, I'm not supposed to be telling you this. I'm not even supposed to _know _this, but…there are whispers that the higher-ups are doing something. Like, all the really higher-ups. Hell, I heard that Colonel Statnik has just disappeared. None of his units know where he is, and whenever someone tries to look, they just hit dead ends."_

"_Okay, so this Statnik guy goes missing, but someone is covering it up?" Adam questioned. "Shouldn't they be looking for him? Isn't he the one in charge of nearly all of the Enforcers in the city?"_

"_People are looking, but they keep on getting blocked. My mate Garrett, he went looking for him at his residence at Thunder Base this morning. His apartment was empty…and his computer was wiped. But get this, it wasn't wiped from the computer itself. Someone _off location_ wiped it. The only people who have the authority to wipe a computer owned by a Colonel are the Colonel themselves or someone higher up. But since it was from somewhere else…"_

"_Someone doesn't want anyone to find out what was on his computer." Adam finished. "So…let me get this straight, someone high up on the commanding food chain or whatever wants Colonel Statnik to disappear, and everything on his computer to be gone. Have you been watching too many spy movies or something?"_

"_Oh shut up." Jeff huffed. "But that's not it. There's more."_

"_Sounds like you're doing a commercial!"_

"_Dammit Adam, this is serious time! Remember?"_

"_Hey, you're the one that's making up conspiracy theories over there!"_

"_Okay, so maybe the whole Colonel Statnik thing does sound like a conspiracy theory, but I know for a fact that something is going on topside. They're pulling out all the Enforcers from all the outposts around the world, and bringing them back here. That's what this bird is going to be used for, transporting troops back to here."_

"_Everywhere? What about C? Are we giving up or something?"_

_Jeff sighed. "Looks like it. But hey, I'm just a grunt. You shouldn't listen to me."_

_Adam frowned and mulled this over a bit. "I can't tell anyone this, can I? Not even Ashley?"_

"_It's best if you just keep it to yourself; I'm not even supposed to know, much less you. But whatever it is, it's big, they can't keep it hidden for long. Please Adam, Pinkie Pie Promise me."_

Adam hated keeping secrets, especially from Ashley, but he did Pinkie Pie Promise Jeff, and he never breaks a Pinkie Promise, or even a regular promise for that matter, but especially the Pinkie Pie Promises, because that meant it was extra important. Adam decided it would be best to push the conversation away, only to remember it at a more critical time.

Adam sighed and stretched. _Now, to get down to business_. There was no way in hell that Ashley's bike would have suddenly broken, not with just a few short days left before the race that decides who'll be racing in the Grand Prix. _There is only one logical cause_, Adam thought. _Sabotage!_ Adam ran over a list of suspects. It couldn't have been one of the pit crew, they all got their pay checks from Ashley's success, and why would they tell her about it before race day? They could have waited until the day of, forcing Ashley to forfeit the race, thus humiliating her and further ruining her racing career. So who else could it be? Connor? Impossible, why would he try to ruin Ashley's racing career? So he could have a chance to work on a professional grade racing bike? That was just stupid. Connor didn't seem to be that sort of person… so, that left only one person eager enough to see Ashley lose, cruel enough to do it, and just stupid enough to attempt it.

Adam heard someone approaching from behind him. "Returning to the scene of the crime, eh Kyle?" He turned around and saw Ashley's rival walking towards him, a smirk on his face. "I take it Ashley and her crew are enjoying the little gift I sent them? Haha, I'm surprised those idiots even noticed it this soon."

Adam smiled, "It's your fault for doing it on the day Ashley wanted to practice. You should have waited a day or two. Not that it would have made a difference."Adam whipped out his datapad, quickly pulling up the stat table for one Ashley Diaz. "You have a lot to do if you want to beat her this year. Just look at the facts, thirty-two consecutive wins, I mean, it's not like you could have won this next race." He glanced up at Kyle. "You know, without cheating. What would the officials do if they learned that you tried to sabotage Ashley's next race?"

Kyle scoffed, "Please, you have no proof! As for those wins, Ashley is just having a streak of luck."

Adam shrugged. "What you call luck, everyone else calls skill. Either way, you seem to be lacking both these past couple of seasons." Adam smiled, he wasn't much for dishing out insults, but when it comes to Kyle, you have to fight fire with fire. "I seriously hope you get some practice in before this next race, Celestia knows you'll need it!"

Kyle glared at Adam. "I forgot how annoying you could be," He said. "But you do realize that no matter how hard her crew works, Ashley will never be ready for this next race. The…help, I acquired for this job was very crafty. He or she did a very good job, as I'm sure you've noticed. That group of idiots Ashley calls a 'pit crew' will never figure it out. Let me guess, they got frustrated so they tore her top bike apart to look for the problem?" Kyle snickered. "Next they'll try to piece it back together, hoping it was just a loose wire or a broken seal. But when that won't work, Ashley will get frustrated and decide to just switch to her back up bike, one that she hasn't used in what, three years? So the pit crew will attempt to get it all nice and shiny for the race, not leaving Ashley much, if any, time to practice and put that bike through its paces. She'll over work the bike either in practice, or during the race. It'll break down, and she'll be out for the race, and then that'll be that!" Kyle stopped his pacing and mockingly bowed.

Adam watched, mocking an impressed expression. "I have to admit, you were very thorough, except for one thing." Adam tucked his datapad under his arm and began to pace, mimicking the motions Kyle was making just a few seconds before. "Imagine Ashley's boyfriend, the smart and incredibly handsome Adam, went partying last night and managed to make a new friend. This new friend, possibly one of the smartest kids in all of Utopia, mentioned to Adam, during a couple rounds of Giggle Shots, that he had made a whole Scootabike from scratch just a few months ago. This same genius kid also knew everything about Scootabikes, and knew every part inside and out, even the exact weight of everything." Adam glanced over at Kyle, whose shit-eating grin had started to dissipate. "And then Ashley called her boyfriend, the strong and incredibly sexy Adam, and told him about her plight, in which Adam, who is still as gorgeous and smart as ever, picked up this new friend in a pegacopter with Adam's sidekick, Jeff the Pilot, and brought the new genius friend to Ashley to fix her bike!" Adam stopped and turned to Kyle. "And that very same genius kid is working on the bike right now, no doubt just a few minutes away from finding the problem." He gave Kyle his biggest grin. "That is one thing you could never have considered, and why you should probably leave now and get some practice in, because Ashley is not out of the game yet."

Kyle gritted his teeth and glared at Adam. "You're bluffing." He spat.

Adam smiled, "You wish. But good try! As far as pranks go, that would have been one of the best I've heard of! It's a shame it was performed by someone so…douchy!"

Kyle took a menacing step forward. "You're so…ugh! Idiot!"

Adam waved his datapad, "I'm an idiot? You're the one who just went on a huge monologue while I recorded it! Now, I have to get back to the garage, those mechanics aren't going to cheer themselves up! Oh, and I suggest you leave now before I make this recording go viral. I doubt you'll be able to get back on your feet after something like that!" Adam tipped a metaphorical hat and left Kyle fuming. _Ah, another job well done._ Adam thought.

Adam quickly made his way back to the garage, bursting to tell them about what just happened. He entered the garage, "Guys! Kyle was here, and he-"

"We know," everyone said in unison. Derek handed him a small cylinder. "This was hidden inside a part of the engine. Connor found it where none of us would have thought to look."

"It's pretty light, that cylinder, but it threw off the weight of the engine enough that I noticed," Connor stated as he was elbow deep in the innards of the bike, rerouting some wires. "I'm almost done by the way, just a few things I want to mess around with."

Adam nodded, noticing that it looked more or less put back together. "Where's Ashley?"

Jason piped up, "She went to go get some guards. You know, to watch the garage over the next few days, in case anyone tries something again."

"I don't think they will," Adam said. "I lied and told Kyle that I recorded his whole monologue rant. He's an idiot, but not so much of an idiot that he would try something twice. Did we get anything on the security feeds?"

Derek shook his head. "Whoever did it was dressed in black from head to toe."

Adam sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "At least we solved the problem, right?"

"Yeah," Connor said. "As soon as I…done!"

The bike was put back together seamlessly. It looked just how Adam remembered it, sleek and powerful. You have to admit, professional grade bikes were dead gorgeous.

Connor stood up and wiped his hands on a rag. "It's back to the way it should be, with some slight modifications to the handling controls and the weight displacers. All within regulations, I assure you! However, if you guys want I could get to work on cosmetics, this thing could use a new coat of paint. Oh, and I have some other things I want to do, a little gift for Ashley, since she let me work on her bike and all."

"You can ask her when she gets back," Derek said. "But I'm sure she won't mind. Hay, we don't mind at all. Less work we have to do I guess!"

Connor nodded and looked back at the bike, a small grin on his face. "The stuff I need is back at my house, so I'll need to go back and get it. I don't suppose Jeff is going to come back and give Jason and me a ride, right?"

Adam shrugged. "It was sorta a onetime deal, sorry."

Connor nodded. "Well then, I suppose we should head towards the nearest station. Can I come back and make the changes some other time? Maybe tomorrow?"

"If you want, I'll be sure to be here to let you in," Derek said. "Might as well give it a new paint job in a bit, too."

Ashley stepped into the garage. "Alright, they said they're going to dispatch a guard or two around the area to keep watch over the place." She turned towards Connor. "Is my bike finished?"

"Yeah, it's all patched up." Connor said, proudly showing off his handiwork. Ashley smiled, relieved to see her baby finally in one piece again.

"Thank you so much. You guys did an awesome job. I just wish there was some way I could repay you two" she said, pondering for a way to reward them.

Suddenly, Emile piped up. "Hey, how about you get them some tickets for the race?" He said. "I mean, they kind of deserve it for coming all the way here and all." Connor raised his eyebrows and looked over at Jason, who was grinning like a fool.

"Uh, sure." Connor replied. "It would be our pleasure."

Ashley smiled. "I have a better idea." She looked at the two boys. "How would you two like a special seat in the Commander's booth?"

Connor twitched. "The Commander's booth? You mean the special command center where the racer gets his or her information from? As in, the place where the leader of the racer's team sits and monitors everything about the track, giving the racer information such as the tracks lay out, the locations of the point rings, and what place certain other racers are? _That_ Commander's Booth?"

Ashley nodded. "I never wanted to deal with hiring one. There's a lot of paperwork involved, and of course a lot of people want the job that aren't even remotely qualified for it. So I decided to just stick with a computer. However, with your mind behind the screens, you could probably help me more than any computer program ever could."

Adam added, "She's held her own without one for the most part. I'd like to try and fill in the position, but frankly I'd do terrible. There are too many monitors and so much information to keep track of. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm pretty good," He patted Connor's chest. "But I'm not a genius like you."

Connor looked down at where Adam patted touched him, and then looked at him. "Seriously? Like, Jason and I can sit in the Commander's Booth and be Ashley's commanders, helping her in the biggest race of the year?"

Adam laughed. "Might be crowded, but it's the best seat in the house! So what do you say kid? Are you in?"

Connor grinned. "Hay yeah!

Ashley smiled. "That's what I like to hear. There will be some paperwork you have to fill out and some other things, but we can smooth all that out whenever you comeback."

"I'm in too!" Jason said. "Not going to miss out on a chance like this."

Adam patted Connor on the back. "See ya then, kid. You should probably head back home before your dad tracks you down again."

Connor stiffened. "Ponyfeathers! I forgot to leave them a message! I left my datapad and phone back home too! Buck!"

Adam snickered and pushed him towards the garage door. "Better book it to the nearest metro, it's about a 20 minute walk from here I think. You should make it back home before three, unless the metro shuts down, of course. That would suck!"

He watched Jason and Connor leave. "Now," He turned to Ashley's pit crew. "How should we go about the whole 'revenge' thing?"


End file.
